Yesterday was my cousin's birthday party! She turned 4 on January 11th and they waited until yesterday to have her party. It was her first real party. She had some friends over and Keaton, Stevie, and I all helped the little kids and stuff. They made chocolate suckers, bouncy balls, and play-doh, and had cake! It was really fun. We gave Lexi a Doodle-Bear, and Adam and I were playing with it while the other kids stuck their hands in ooey-gooey play doh mix. YUCK! I helped with everything, but that. I found a "magic fish" (as I call it) in Keaton's room. It was a dolphin lamp that lit up when you pressed the button. When Brandi passed out cupcakes, her fingers got really messy. So guess what she did. Take a wild guess...
This is where sarcasm stabs me in the back...
Are you ready?
I said "Ohh, yummy fingers."
She came charging at me with sticky icing-ish hands and rubbed them in my hair and on my face. Thanks Brandi!

This was my first time to go to Sunday school in 2 years. Usually we just go to regular service. It's taken weeks, but I finally convinced Mom to let me go to Sunday school again. So, here is my first day in 24-7 (our church's teen small groups).

Lost and Found
Mom dropped me off and drove back home so she could come back to church later for service. I walked in to the SEC and stood. I had no idea where to go. Our church is huge, and there are parts I have never seen. I walked down a hall, and saw two girls walking, I didn't want them to think I was following them, so I stood and then walked, and when they turned, I caught up and kind of stopped. Eventually I lost them, and I had no idea where I was. I heard music and followed the sound to a hallway with a pizza box on the right side. I saw a door with a metal plate on the wall that read "Teens". I walked in and was amazed.

The Coolest Place Ever
I walked in to a huge room with a food bar, ping-pong tables, pool tables, foosball, video games, and my friend Kelsey. I ran over to Kelsey and she got out of the chair at the food bar. I looked at the menu and saw frappucinos, coffee, cookies, and all this delicious stuff. Most of it under $2.00. It was amazing. Kelsey and I played a racing game and she won, I kept breaking my windows. Then we were all called into this big room full of tables laid out in front of a stage with a drum set, screen, and other stuff. I sat with Kelsey and Hannah came in. She was glad that I finally came to Sunday school.

The Lesson
Our small group leader had brought a jar that her husband always took tea in. She passed it around and we saw that there were stains from the tea. She explained how it was like our heart, stained from sin on the inside. Then she filled it with water and put bleach or something in it and took out her Bible. We went to verses from Psalms, Isaiah, and 1st John talking about how Jesus can take away our sins and make us clean. One talked about Him sweeping them up and forgetting about them. After we read, she passed the jar around. No tea stains in the jar. She asked what that had represented and we said it was His blood, which was correct. It was a great lesson.

After the Lesson
After the lesson, Hannah, Kelsey, and I went back into the main room and the majority of the people left. We stood there and played ping-pong and Kelsey kept on hitting it towards the trashcan, barely missing it. We wandered around and talked until we decided to something else. It was 9:00 and we still had quite a while. So we thought we'd have some fun. Like I said: Our church is huge, and there are parts I haven't even seen it in. And I've been there since I was a baby.

Exploring
Curiosity lured us into a hall leading to some stairs. We went up the stairs and saw nothing until I pointed out a door. Did we walk in? What do you think? It is me, you know. We opened the door and turned on the light. It was so cool. We knew we were allowed up here because the lady said we could. While Hannah and Kelsey were digging through the candy bowl, I was looking through windows and searching around the room. I think it was the room where Courtney's small group had been. Nothing interesting except for a ladder that went into the ceiling. That was kind of weird...
We left that room and went downstairs. We wandered around in and out of doors leading to rain or music. One room we found was the SEC. It was completely empty, but fans were running and music was playing. So, Hannah, Kelsey, and I jumped on stage and had a little rock star wannabe episode. That was kinda weird. Hannah took me into a hallway she thought was creepy. I don't know why, all it was was a bunch of blue lockers. We kept walking and found the free coffee outside the Worship Center. We got some coffee and put Splenda and stuff in it, then walked off. Hannah asked if I wanted to ride the elevator. I didn't even know our church had an elevator! We needed to get to the first floor, and I didn't even realize were on the second floor. We help out in the nursery, which is on the first floor. Hannah took me to the elevator and we got in. We went down and started walking towards Discovery Land when Kelsey decided she wanted more coffee. Oh boy! We went back to the elevator, went up, got her coffee, and went down.

Helping Out
We went to Discovery Land and asked if we could help, and she said we could go see the 4 year olds. Yes! We got potty trained kids this time! That also means they could talk. And my friend was there! My little 4-yeard-old buddy, Lilly. She is so cute! She remembered me! We read to them and played with them until the lesson came on TV automatically. It was Mrs. Geena, the preschool director, and her dog (puppet) Diggety. The lesson was to always obey your parents. And they told the story about Jonah. We got the kids to listen and explained to them what they didn't understand. Lilly sat in my lap while we watched. When Mrs. Geena said Jonah was in the fish's stomach for 3 days, Lilly added that he had been in there for 3 days and 40 nights. That was funny! I told her she was thinking of Noah. We helped explain the memory verses to them and stuff and played with them until time to go. We all said good bye and I went to the room outside the SEC to find Mom. She was just picking up a cell phone to call me when I walked in. She had been waiting for 10 minutes. I guess big church got let out earlier than Discovery Land. We got Wendy's burgers and went home.
I am definately going back next week!

Fact:

This was my first time to skate at a rink in 3-5 years.

Disco balls rock!

Info
Today was our pod field trip and all of the people with no more than 2 missing papers were allowed to go. Guess who's one of those people...Me!
Anyways, the field trip was 2 hours of roller skating fun at the local rink. Here's the story...

Before Boarding the Bus
I got my camera out of my locker and brought it to my homeroom. It was a nice wait, people talking amongst themselves, reading, and naming chairs. I know, there are some idiots in my school. Somebody said my chair's name is Henry. Great... Anyways, we went to P.E. for 45 minutes then came back and sat in our homeroom for 15. Then we got on the bus.

The Bus
We got on the bus, barely making it because of the wind. Everybody sat in the back except for Olivia, Teresa, and I who sat in the very front across from Mrs. Blackwell. On the ride to the rink we got to talk with Mrs. Blackwell. I like her, she's really nice and fun to talk with. The bus was decent, better that some I have been in. Maybe tomorrow I'll write a post about scary buses. Anyways, the ride didn't take long and we were at the rink before we knew it.

We're Here!
I was one of the first to get my skates which were very confusing. I didn't realize that the shoelaces were inside the skate itself... I found out after a while though. After getting my skates on I took a few pictures and talked with my friends while "warming up". It's a scary world out there. Anyways, eventually came the skating.

The Skating
I started out with my friends, then they were behind me..hmm... I couldn't help speeding ahead of everyone. Eventually I slowed down and talked to Ms. Johnson. We skated together talking until she started talking with someone else and I soon realized she was way behind me. I sped off alone for a long period of time until someone finally caught up to me. Teresa and I sat at a table and relaxed for a while before we headed back to the rink. I lost her eventually on accident. I had gone around and I was trying to catch up with her when I had a little accident. I was going really fast when I noticed my left foot was directly behind my right foot and I plunging towards the ground. I spun around and land right on my knees, staring off in the opposite direction everybody was going. I heard "J!" and I turned to see Teresa staring at me with her mouth open. I got up and turned around, only to see my language, science, and math teacher clapping and smiling at me. I smiled and kept going with Teresa. Mrs. Blackwell caught up to me and told me that she wasn't clapping because I fell, she was clapping because I fell so gracefully. Then the games started...

Games
I never liked rink games, and I still don't. There was Greenlight Go, which I just watched and concluded that I've never seen so many people slide across the floor in an atempt to stop all at the same time. Then there was a dice game which was pretty boring. Then somebody requested a snowball. No way! I did not. But it was hilarious. 5 guys lined up at the wall and like 20 girls lined up at the other. The announcer said, "I need more guys. Okay, I will give any guy that participates a free Airhead." Voom! A whole pool of boys went to the wall. I yelled through the rink "That's cheap you guys!". It was so funny! The most unlikely couple skated together. Some were so embarassed that they skated alone or with a friend. I mean like girls with girls and guys with guys. And then there were the bf/gfs that held hands which was disgusting and the guys that just skated with girls and acted like they weren't even there. It was funny! And I was sitting on the sideline watching and laughing. Then there was the Cha-Cha Slide. No way! Wait, actually yes way... I had to. So I did. It was fun, and some people were worse than me. Then it was all over.

3-Day Weekend
We get a 3-day weekend! Yippeee!! Monday, the teachers are having a meeting, so that means no school. But what stinks is I was planning to go to the school library on Monday, I have to return a book. I guess I have to move my plans to Tuesday. Haha! Anyways, Lisa's school is out too. That's pretty cool, considering I go to a public school and Lisa goes to a private school.

Blogs!
All thanks to Lisa, Katherine and I have been sending e-mails to each other this morning. I haven't seen her since I left FCS. And guess what, she saw mine and Lisa's blogs and now she wants her own, too! And now Robert wants one too!
Google needs to be thanking me! lol!
Because blogs are better than xangas, ahem...

New Moon
Bailey's birthday will be on a new moon this year, and telling her that makes a funny story.
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I told Bailey her birthday was going to be on the same day as the new moon. Her birthday is January 29th. She asked what a new moon was and I told her it is when you can't see the moon. She was amazed. She asked me if there would still be night! Lol! I told Bailey that the moon does not cause night. Oh boy... Now it got to be scientific. Guess what she said...
"Why?" Now Bailey is a smart girl, so I knew she'd understand this if I told her. But just to be sure I grabbed three of her little bouncy balls. The Earth was the one with the line through it so she could see the equator, and know how the Earth tilted. The other two were just balls... I showed her the main need-to-knows: The Earth revolves around the sun, the moon revolves around the Earth, and so-on. Once she knew how it worked I explained how once a month the moon would be on one side of the Earth while the sun was on the other. This really twisted my arms. Then, holding that strange position of wound up wrists, I told her how the moon has no light of it's own, and got its light from the sun. But, during a new moon, the Earth blocks the light, leaving the moon with nothing to reflect, therefore seeming invisible in the sky. She understood it!
And now she knows that the moons light (which is actually the suns light) is not required for night-time. And now my elbows hurt.

Congrats Paxton!
I would like to congratulate Paxton on her gym meet. Last Friday, Paxton went to St. Louis to compete at a state-wide gymnastics competition. She got 2nd place on vault with a 9.45.
Congratulations Paxton!

Friday the 13th--Superstition Got the Best of Us...
Amanda and I have been waiting all week, and today finally came! As you know, today is Friday the 13th! I love Friday the 13th! The day, not the movie. Before I tell you the story I will have you know I was very disappointed to have made it through the day with both eyeballs in place...
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We came to school and headed off to gym. Throughout the week, words gone through the school that Amanda and I are brave enough to say Bloody mary 3 times in the mirror....and have our eyes clawed out by Bloody Mary's spirit that supposedly travels through mirrors. People were coming up to us, "Are you really going to do it?" and we said "Yes". But one girl, Teresa, came up and said "You know the bathrooms have security cameras, right?" Oopsy...
I ran to tell Amanda when she was finished dressing (we were in the locker room). We had to do it in the gym bathroom, and fast. We ran in and waited for the bathroom to clear. We stared into the mirror with our hands on the counter and said "1...2...3..." And in perfect unison-"Bloody Mary Bloody Mary Bloody Mary". We stared into the mirror. Silence. Then we ran into the gym for PE. Every time we passed a mirror we looked for her. Every pair of glasses, every glass box. Then, at our bathroom break at 7th block, were looking in the mirror and Amanda jumped. She saw a reflection of a shadow in the reflection of the paper towel dispenser. Fake... It wasn't Bloody Mary, it coudn't be. No one else in the bathroom. We left to class. And that's the end....
Oh yeah, it was a shadow beside Amanda's, and I was on the opposite side of the bathroom.

Skipping School
Haha! I didn't skip school. I was just out until lunch. I had to go to the doctor. My appointment was at 8:30, and I was getting my prescription represcriptioned. Haha! While I was gone, there was an assembly that would last until lunch. I didn't see the point in coming in during the assembly because that would mess everything up. So Mom and I went home and I ate Everydays (Mom's soup) and then headed back to school.

Run, Birkleigh, Run!
His name's Birkleigh, Birkleigh Gump.
Mom got an e-mail from Dad when she came home and Dad had already left. It told about our little Birkleigh's non-stop run. This was about, 2 days ago I think. Birkleigh was wanting outside, scratching franticallly at the door in that pitiful way. Dad let him out to be nice. Usually we put him out back but Dad thought it would be alright to let the poor dog have some fun. Big mistake... Birkleigh took of running down, down, down the street and then Dad took off running down, down, down the street. Birkleigh ran so far down through other people's yards that Dad had no choice but to sneak up on him and tackle him. No more morning jogs for this dog...

My Ears
I can't hear in my left ear! It's been numb inside and out since last night. It's very very strange. Mom says it's just fluid. I like that word: fluuuu-iddddd. Haha! Anyways, it's weird.

Award Binder
Yesterday I won the Perfect Attendance and Straight A awards. Now I have a very large collection. Dad suggested using a binder and clear protective sheets to put the awards in. It's brilliant! So that's what I did. Now I have to find all my awards... Some of them are in Mom's office, and those are for her to find.

I'll tell you the story from the beginning...
Every detail and word I can remember...
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Into the Cafeteria
The intercom buzzed on, and the principal's voice boomed through the class saying, "Will all spelling bee participants report to the cafeteria immediately."
I got up and walked out the door and Chris followed. (He came in second in the class spelling bee.) We walked down the hall and caught up with Andrew and the other people. Andrew asked how many pages I had studied. I told him around 2. The principal gave us 14... He had studied 9 and was laughing because I hadn't. Oh well. We walked into the cafeteria with the other 60 kids waiting there. Actually, we were 2 short. Zach (winner of 04 bee) was on vacation and Jordan (F) didn't want to because she hadn't gotten the words to study. We stood in the cafeteria until Mrs. Garlington came in.

The Bee
Mrs. Garlington directed us to our seats. "J, you are number 26. Over there." I was seated by Chris who was seated by Chris. The audience came in and Mrs. Garlington gave us a brief set of rules. Chris asked how many I thought would be out by round 1. I said around half, or thirty. He said he thought about ten. After round 1, almost half of the contestants were gone. "Toldja so!" I couldn't help telling Chris! Haha! After a couple rounds, I was stuck with the word "psywar". I was just about to say "C-Y-W-A-R" when I thought, maybe not. I asked for a definition and the word that stood out was "psychological". I knew immediately it was P-S-Y-W-A-R. I was right! After that, Chris got out and Mark got out, Andrew had gotten out, and I was one of 3 remaining contestants. "If she gets this one right, she will win." Dialogue time: "J, your word is emulsify." I spelled it "E-M-U-L-S-I-F-Y." Oops...big mistake... But I was not disqualified! The other 2 kids went and lost their words. I went up to spell one more time. I forgot what word I got, all I remember was: "That is correct." Mrs. Garlington came up to me with the 1st place trophy. I was the winner. Now they had to find the runner-up. The two remaining people battled it out while I sat on stage with them, trying to scratch the "Made in Italy" sticker off the trophy. Eventually, the older student (older than me) got a word right and was given 2nd place trophy. I still couldn't get the "Made in Italy" sticker off...

After the Bee
I have never been congratulated so many times before! My art teacher and my language teacher came up and congratulated me, other contestants congratulated me. Mama and Dad took my picture, and so did the librarian. I heard my name over the intercom, and that was only the beginning...

In the Classroom
I put the trophy in my locker and walked to class. I open the door just in time to hear my teacher say "The spelling bee winner!". I was standing in front of Paxton, Krista, and Jordan, all smiling like I had slain a dragon or something. "1--2--3!!!" came out of Paxtons mouth, and then nothing out of mine. I couldn't breath through all the girls hugging and squeezing me!!! Oh yeah, Chris too, that was kind of funny.

Today is my blog's birthday!
This is the day we've been waiting for!
I call it, my blog-versary!
As of today, my blog is 1 year old. This is my story:
It was early morning, January 4th. We were in the car and Dad said something about his blog. "What's a blog?" was my question. He told me that Google had come up with a program to create mini journaling websites. And he told me I was old enough to get my own blog. So, later that night after showing me his blog, he showed me the Blogger website and told me how to create a blog. I followed the steps, and created my first post. Since then, I have been blogging about my life and sharing the experience to blog with my friends.

Unknown date---Jordan F. created her blog after seeing and liking mine.
July 21st--Nicole created her blog after seeing and liking mine.
August 14th--Lisa created her blog after seeing and liking mine.

Through this blog I have progressed in my computer skills. I have learned how to toy around in the html code and do all sorts of stuff. I have a weekly calendar on the sidebar that I put there myself, I have a poll, a "Special Thanks To", and many other things.

Earlier this year, starting May 29th, I did a series of posts telling about my friends that lasted until June 7th. I wrote about my friends Katy, Sara, Lisa, Gooby, Hannah, Jordan F., Korah, Kambri, Morgan (Fluffy), and Leta. I do plan to do this again this year talking about some of the same and some different people, talking about new things and new excitements that will have happened between last year and this year.

I have typed many things on this blog. I have made a dedication to my friend Sara when she moved (click here to read it), and typed many posts about visits to and from friends. I wrote about my previous Spelling Bee, and given a review on some things I had watched on TV. This past year of blogging has been great and I will keep doing it for a long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long time!!!!!

Thank you for reading!
Will post again soon!

Brioso
Today we went to a brazilian restaurant called Brioso Brazil, around 5:00. We just got home about 30 minutes ago! It was delicious. They would bring food to you and you would tell them if you wanted it or not. It was awesome. I said "yes" to the parmesan chicken, and all of their steaks! I said "yes" to other things too, I just can't remember. Dad and I had a fudge brownie with ice cream for dessert and Bailey and Mom had raspberry cheesecake.

Yesterday
Yesterday, Mom, Bail, and I went shopping. I spent half of one of my Barnes and Noble giftcards to buy a scary stories book. It has short stories by a lot of authors. What caught my eye was 2 of my favorites, R.L. Stine and Stephen King. It also has a Roald Dahl story in it. We got Starbucks coffee at Barnes and Noble. I had a mocha chiller and Mom and Bailey got hot mocha expressos. We also went to Hobby Lobby where Mom bought me a sketch pad and charcoal pencils. I paid her back and that ended up buying her a drink at Sonic. I think she got water or tea, I'm not sure.

The Movies
My mama took me to the movies today to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was awesome! I loved it! It wasn't as scary as the book so I was somewhat disappointed, but oh well! It had good acting and animation. I saw a preview for King Kong, which my mom and I have been wanting to see. It looked even better on the commercial at the movies than on TV. Now we really want to see it. We'll probably wait and rent it though. We only go to the movies maybe 4 times a year. It's tradition for Mom and I to see Harry Potter when it comes out.

Tomorrow!
Be sure to read tomorrow! It's going to be a good post. But I can't tell you what it will be about!

Coming Closer!
I am so excited, this Thursday is the spelling bee! It is also my first day back to school! My spelling bee will be at 8:15, so I will need to go to bed early tomorrow night so that I don't fall asleep while accepting my 1st place trophy. Haha!

Happy New Years!
I will recall 2005 and make plans for 2006.

2005 Accomplishments

Came in 5th place at district spelling bee after coming in 2nd place at school.

Got a blog (ta-da!)

finished my first year in a public school, and started my second.

Was transferred to an intermediate gymnastics class after 1 month of lessons.

Was proved Advanced in literacy and math through the benchmark test.

Got a professional graphic arts program and mastered it immediately. (click here for proof)

Adopted Birkleigh!!!

2006 Accomplishments (so far)

I haven't gotten sick at all.

I haven't lost any competitions. (Or had any competitions for that matter...)

I haven't gone too long without updating. (But yet this is my first update all year...)

I haven't spilled anything on myself or anyone else. (All I've had today was water breakfast!)

I haven't blown out a candle and gotten wax all over my self. (It happened last week, but it was an accident!!!)

I haven't gotten any computer viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, etc... (That reminds me, I need to clean out my computer!)

New Years Resolutions

Win the school spelling bee.

Not miss a single episode of Monk or The 4400 when they're back in season.

Not get any big time viruses that result in me getting a new hardrive. (Again...)

Overcome my OCD. (OCD should be 4 letters so that it's an even number of letters...lol)

Remember to post on January 4th so all you readers will get to read it! I still won't tell you why! You'll have to see!

Not have too many New Years Resolutions.